Article by:
Liza Agoot
BAGUIO CITY – Kids with special conditions can have normal life amidst their situation, according to a neurodevelopmental pediatrician at the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center.
“Their condition is lifetime but it does not mean they can be in that condition for life. If their condition is detected early, they can be assisted and provided with skills that will normalize their daily lives,” said Dr. Leanith Haya in a press conference for the Autism Consciousness week aired on social media Friday.
Haya said autism is a neurodevelopment disorder characterized by social and communication difficulties and restricted and repetitive behavior.
She said screening and surveillance lead to early identification of children at risk, leading to earlier evaluation and initiation of intervention that can lead to improved outcomes.
He underscored the role of village health workers in assisting special children to have normalcy in their lives.
“As far as a I know, our barangay health workers are trained in early childhood care and development. Part of the training includes when and who to refer to. I am glad to say that we have good communication with the different institutions/ hospitals in the Cordillera, which will facilitate ease of referral,” Haya told the Philippine News Agency in an interview.
The medical specialist explained that clinical screening by a neurodevelopmental doctor is needed after a surveillance to determine if the signs and symptoms are consistent with the condition.
“That is the only time intervention is provided, which is in different stages, that will allow the child to live with normalcy,” the doctor said.
The interventions focus on applied behavioral analysis; occupational, speech, therapy and sensory processing; educational; social-relationship; pharmacological; and psychological intervention.
Haya said primary care facilities like the Baguio General Hospital are covered by the Z-package of the Philhealth for the assessment, which could be different if done by a private physician.
She said that while therapy can be done by the doctor, family and home therapy and support will mean the difference in the outcome.
“Malaking factor ang ginagawa sa bahay na therapy kasi limited lang sa 10 sessions ang sa doctor at medyo mataas ang presyo (The therapy done at home will help a lot since the doctor’s therapy is limited to 10 sessions and could be costly),” she said.
She said training the special children also matters since it is their future that are at stake.
Father’s experience
Fred (not his real name), whose son was diagnosed of mild attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) when the kid was six years old, said his son is academically superior when it comes to topics he likes.
“He started reading and counting numbers in English, Filipino and Ilocano even before he spoke clearly,” he said, adding that his son knows a lot about countries and planets but hates writing on paper.
He said a pediatrician saw something different when his kid was four years old, thus they sought an appointment with a child development expert, whose service they were able to avail of after a year due to the long queue.
His son was referred for therapy but Fred said they requested to be “taught how to do it so that we can still continue even at home.”
Fred, a scuba diver and is into extreme outdoor games, has exposed his son to different skills like snorkeling and swimming.
His kid is also starting to learn scuba diving and has been trained on jungle survival while he continues to be on home schooling.
“It is challenging but it has to be done and complemented at home,” Fred added. (PNA)
Log in with Google